Zephyrus grabbing Chloris,
whom he ravishes and makes
his wife. In remorse, he turns
her into the Goddess Flora
(pictured left).

Analysis
and Interpretation of La Primavera by Botticelli

A masterpiece of the Florentine
Renaissance, La Primavera was commissioned by the Medici
family from a Botticelli (1445-1510) at the height of his powers.
This complex allegorical and mythological
painting brings together the elegance of Gothic
art, the decorative beauty of the International
Gothic and the humanistic narrative of the Italian
Renaissance. It contains numerous references to classical and contemporary
texts, and is open to almost endless interpretations by scholars and art
historians. According to the Uffizi, it was probably painted to celebrate
the wedding of Lorenzo Medici and Semiramide Appiani, which took place
in May 1482. Like his other work, The
Birth of Venus (1484-86) - a companion piece which hung in the
Medici's summer house - La Primavera remains an iconic painting
of the Renaissance
in Florence, and ranks among the finest of all
Renaissance paintings. Botticelli trained under Fra Filippo
Lippi (1406-69) whose style of expressive interactions between figures,
combined with decorative techniques inherited from the Late Gothic period,
is clearly evident in both paintings. Another influence was Antonio
Pollaiuolo (1432-98), whose new style of muscular modelling was more
sensitive to human anatomy and proportion.

Mercury, messenger of the
gods, guards the scene as
the Three Graces dance.
This trio represents three
of the earliest non-religiousfemale nudes in art history.

When Botticelli began La Primavera
he had only just returned from Rome, where he had executed a number of
fresco paintings on the walls of
the Sistine Chapel for Pope Sixtus IV. (Example: Revolt Against the
Law of Moses, 1481.) The successful completion of such a prestigious
commission cemented his already high reputation, and led to more commissions
from families in high society, like the Medicis. It was during this period
1482-90 that Botticelli painted most of his allegorical and mythological
works (Pallas and the Centaur, Venus and Mars, The Birth
of Venus, La Primavera), which, incidentally, were not intended
to be viewed by a large audience, but were installed in private rooms,
and designed specifically to the interests of the customer. Botticelli's
clients belonged to the humanist circle associated with the Medici Family,
and so were especially interested in classical mythology and the study
of antiquity. In 1919, the painting was acquired by the Uffizi
Gallery in Florence. Although it was thoroughly cleaned and restored
in 1982, the painting has darkened considerably over the centuries.

Primavera - From Classical Mythology

In La Primavera, Botticelli created
a lively, interactive scene, based on several different sources including,
Ovid's Fasti, a poetic calendar of Roman festivals; and De Rerum
Nature (On the Nature of Things), a philosophical poem by the classical
writer Titus Lucretius Carus (1st century BCE). Primavera is one
of the first known paintings from the post-classical period which portrays
Gods and Goddesses life-size and virtually naked. Some of the poses and
figures are derived from Greek
sculpture, although - as is evident from the slightly elongated torsos
and distended stomachs - they are reworked to reflect contemporary Florentine
aesthetics.

The scene is set in the divine garden of
Venus, the Goddess of Love, who is standing in the centre of the
picture, set back a shade from the other figures. Close by, her companions,
the Three Graces, are wearing diaphanous white and jewels in the
colours of the Medici family. They are dancing, while next to them on
the extreme left of the picture, Mercury - the winged messenger
of the gods - is wearing a helmet and carrying a sword, enough to identify
him as being on guard. He is also marked out by his winged shoes and his
signature staff, with which he chases away threatening clouds. Overhead,
Venus's blindfolded son Amor, aims his arrow at the Three Graces.

Zephyrus

Meanwhile, on the extreme right of the
painting, Botticelli has depicted
two separate tales from classical mythology. Both concern Zephyrus,
the god of the wind, who is featured with puffed cheeks and reaching for
the nymph Chloris. In the first tale, Zephyrus falls for
Chloris whom he forcefully takes as his wife. In the second tale,
Zephyrus - as a mark of regret for his conduct - then transforms
Chloris into Flora Goddess of Flowers and Spring. According
to Ovid, he also gives her a wonderful garden, filled with flowers and
plants, in which eternal spring reigns.

Botanical Landscape

The garden we see however, belongs to Venus,
who raises her hand to welcome viewers into her kingdom. Her proprietorship
is confirmed by the myrtle tree, behind her, which is one of her symbols.
For reasons which are unclear, Botticelli painted a staggering 500 separate
plant species in the picture, including some 190 different flowers. This
one element alone has been the subject of decades of specialist cataloguing
and research.

The figure of Venus (both in La
Primavera and The Birth of Venus) may have been modelled on
Simonetta Vespucci, the wife of Marco Vespucci. According to rumour, she
was the mistress of Giuliano de' Medici, who himself is supposed to have
been the model for Mercury. See also the Portrait of Simonetta
Vespucci (1482, Musee Conde, Chantilly), by Piero
di Cosimo (1461-1521).

Neo-Platonic Love

According to one expert, La Primavera
may be an illustration of Neo-platonic love. Thus, physical love symbolized
by Zephyrus is renounced by the central member of the Graces, who turns
her back on Zephyrus and Amor/Cupid, and gazes at Mercury.
The winged messenger is himself looking out beyond the canvas at the painting
Pallas and the Centaur (c.1482, Uffizi Gallery, Florence), which
supposedly hung next to Primavera, and which portrays the victory
of virtue over lust. If so, it must have been hung at a higher level than
Primavera, as Mercury's gaze is directed towards the top corner
of the garden. (Compare Botticelli's expressionist distortion of forms
- the Florentine style - with the more naturalist contemporary painting
Virgin of the Rocks 1484-6,
by Leonardo.)

Botticelli's Allegorical Paintings

These pictures - Pallas and the Centaur
(c.1482, Uffizi Gallery, Florence), Venus and Mars (1483, National
Gallery, London), Birth of Venus (1482-3, Uffizi), La Primavera
(1484-6, Uffizi) - mostly completed in the 1480s, form an unusually homogenous
group, in both their narrative content and stylistic expression. In spite
of numerous scholarly attempts by art historians, spanning the entire
20th century, to decipher the intricate set of figures and other symbols
within these works, they remain a mystery. One reason for this - aside
from the presence of references to contemporary Florentine elements, some
of which have fallen into total obscurity - is that they are a super-complex
blend of classical mythology and modern textual sources, and rank among
the greatest treasures in Early
Renaissance painting. For many scholars, Botticelli's paintings are
a lifetime study, so don't worry if you don't understand everything in
La Primavera: just stand back and enjoy it.